The amounts of fentanyl annually seized by U.S. border and immigration authorities are nearly three and five times the amounts previously taken, according to new federal data.

Customs and Border Protection reported Tuesday that authorities have seen a dramatic increase in fentanyl because of U.S. demand as well as their ability to detect it. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Matthew Bourke said in a statement that the country's active crackdown and cheapness of the drug have contributed to the change.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized 2,370 pounds between October 2016 and September 2017, and the amount seized during the previous time frame was 501 pounds, according to federal data.

At ports of entry and international mailing facilities, the amount of fentanyl seized went from 440 pounds to 1,195 pounds in those same one-year time frames, according to data released Tuesday by the Office of Field Operations.

Customs and Border Protection authorities also uncovered several hundred pounds of the drug in other operations in the most recent 12-month period.

Current numbers regarding fentanyl are continuing, according to Customs and Border Protection.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who headed the president's opioid commission, said last week at a hearing with legislators in Baltimore that international drug trafficking problems regarding synthetic painkillers fentanyl and carfentanil need to be addressed before they become even worse in the U.S.

He also said those types of painkillers are going to make heroin and prescription opioids "look like child's play."